A pickup truck is a utility vehicle with a truck cab for transporting passengers and a truck bed for transporting cargo. Typically, the truck bed is defined by a generally flat floor, upstanding left and right side walls that project generally vertically from left and right edges of the floor, and an upstanding front wall that spans between the anterior ends of the left and right sidewalls and projects generally vertically from the anterior edge of the floor. A rear wall or tailgate is typically retained pivotally adjacent to the posterior edge of the floor to selectively span between the posterior ends of the left and right sidewalls when the tailgate is in a generally vertical disposition. The tailgate can be pivoted to a disposition generally in the same plane as the floor thereby opening the truck bed and effectively extending the length of the floor as a flat surface for transporting cargo and permitting access to the storage volume defined by the floors and walls of the truck bed.
Although of great utility, the capacity of the pickup truck bed is inherently limited by its dimensions. The length and width of the floor, the distances between the left and right sidewalls and between the front wall and the tailgate, and the heights of the walls and tailgate impose limitations on the length of the cargo that can fit within and be retained by the truck bed. A further boundary is provided by the upstanding cab disposed anterior to the truck bed. Boards, pipes, canoes, kayaks, and other stock and cargo too long to fit within the truck bed must be transported, if at all, with their ends cantilevered over the edges of the truck bed or over the vehicle's cab. This method is decidedly unstable, and unintended shifting can lead to dangerous consequences and damage to the vehicle and the cargo itself. Cargo too long even for that haphazard method of transport may simply be beyond the capacity of the vehicle.
Advantageously, the prior art has disclosed rack systems for pickup trucks and other vehicles that are intended to provide level support to such elongate articles. Typically, such racks have one or perhaps two support structures with a support surface normally provided at a level approximately equal to or higher than the top of the cab of the truck. For instance, a support structure may have one or more upright members or other portions fixed immediately behind the truck cab with a laterally communicating upper support bar. Additionally or alternatively, a support structure, typically with fixed upstanding legs and a laterally communicating support bar, may be secured adjacent to the posterior end of the truck bed. Particularly where anterior and posterior structures are provided, such fixed rack systems establish a level basis of support above the truck bed. With that, cargo longer than the truck bed can be disposed atop the support structures and transported.
While useful, such cargo racks of the prior art are unfortunately fixed in their upright configurations, even during periods of non-use. As a result, fixed cargo racks can be objectionable in appearance to users who have no choice but to present a truck with exposed racks that have a decidedly utilitarian and otherwise unattractive appearance. Moreover, such fixed racks can present obstacles to other uses of the truck. Still further, fixed racks require added clearance for passage of the truck under, for example, overhangs, garage doors, and parking facilities.
It would thus be ideal to have the utility of the cargo rack when needed but to have the ability to minimize or substantially eliminate the deleterious appearance and repercussions of the cargo rack when the rack is not in use. To that end, a number of skilled inventors have proposed collapsible cargo racks for vehicles that can be manipulated between use and non-use configurations. With a studied knowledge of the prior art, one will be aware that the disclosed adjustable racks have demonstrated a plurality of limitations that have prevented widespread use and commercialization. For example, many collapsible racks, such as those of U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,152 to Hendricks and U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,472 to Coffland, are structurally complex and rely for their stability and integrity a stable relationship between multiple adjustable components. Particularly over time, such stability is unlikely to be achieved reliably. Moreover, many adjustable racks, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 8,777,288 to Johnasen, although pivotable between use and storage configurations, are incapable of pivoting to a substantially unobtrusive position. Accordingly, even when in a storage configuration, many adjustable racks of the prior art continue to obstruct full use of the truck bed and interfere with the intended appearance of the truck.
It is thus apparent that, despite the many adjustable cargo racks known to the prior art, there remains a need for a rack that is elegant in structure and operation that is adjustable between storage and use configurations to provide stable, reliable support during use while permitting adjustment to a position that is unobstructive in location and appearance during periods of non-use so that a pickup truck can have the utility of a cargo rack when desired while having the substantial appearance of being without a rack when the rack is not needed.